Partners

It took Caelan quite a while to explain his thoughts to Tina, pulling her back from her wild imaginings and clarifying his ideas.

In short, it was about a “partnership.”

Two people starting a business together.

The current situation of the castle was that Caelan alone was barely enough, but if they wanted to continue developing, he couldn't do it by himself.

He had thought about abandoning everything and just running away, but first, he didn't understand this world at all; second, his current strength was probably only enough to contend with a Kobold; and finally, as the Demon King, he was disliked by both the Demon race and the Human race.

According to records in books, there was a spell called “Insight” that could peer into others' attributes. If someone used it and saw “Demon King” clearly written in his attributes, he would be completely finished.

So, the best solution right now was to stay in this Demon King's City, which everyone knew about but no one would come to, and first establish a foothold and improve his strength.

At the same time, he also needed an army, one that could at least protect itself.

Therefore, the army's logistics needed to be ensured, and farming seemed like the most down-to-earth approach.

What Caelan lacked most now were managers.

The number of Kobolds could temporarily solve the labor shortage problem, but Caelan couldn't manage them all by himself.

Stone was smart, but its intelligence was still that of a child; it was good enough that it didn't cause trouble, so it naturally couldn't be expected to manage the Kobolds.

That's when Tina arrived.

Someone came to a place where no one had been for three hundred years.

Wasn't this a coincidence?

Caelan naturally couldn't let this opportunity pass; he had to keep her, no matter what.

Things like orchards and animal husbandry were currently out of reach, but to fool… no, to get someone to partner with him, he naturally had to present some business prospects.

This was absolutely not drawing a big picture.

After speaking, Caelan looked at Tina somewhat nervously.

If Tina disagreed and insisted on leaving, then… he could only beg her.

—What else could he do? Although he was the Demon King, he couldn't bring himself to kidnap someone.

He, of course, didn't know that his proposal perfectly aligned with Tina's wishes.

Tina only now understood that the so-called Order Alliance having no heroes for three hundred years wasn't because no heroes appeared, but because every hero who appeared was secretly killed by the kings' arranged troops.

She still didn't understand why the kings did this, but she was currently being hunted by the entire Order Alliance, similarly having nowhere to go in this vast world. At this moment, having a place to shelter her, she was naturally overjoyed.

She only felt some guilt about not being able to reveal her identity to Caelan.

“...It is a great honor to be able to cooperate with you.”

Tina bowed slightly in agreement, and Caelan also quickly bowed back, his face beaming with joy.

Then, he waved a hand towards Stone: “Stone, go hunt more things; we're eating well tonight!”

“Awooo!”

Stone roared once, then pattered away.

Caelan watched Stone's cheerful retreating figure, then stroked his chin.

“I really can't let it play with Fat Tiger and Fu anymore; how come even its bark sounds like a dog's now…”

Fat Tiger and Fu, who were grunting and working enthusiastically nearby, seemed to have heard their names mentioned and looked at Caelan with puzzled expressions.

...

Night.

Caelan lit a bonfire in the courtyard. A monstrous bull, as large as a small car, was gutted, cleaned, and roasted over the fire.

He had already marinated the monstrous bull with sauce beforehand. Not long after it was placed on the fire, as the subcutaneous fat sizzled out, a scent also spread.

Originally, with such a large monstrous bull, it would be more cost-effective to prepare different parts of its body using different methods—for example, the mutated mushrooms that grew legs and ran everywhere were very suitable for stewing with beef brisket, and for barbecue, the meat from the monstrous bull's spine was more appropriate.

But Tina had just arrived, so it was best to use as few of those somewhat toxic spices and side dishes as possible.

At least, wait until the first batch of detoxifying herbs had been grown.

Moreover, Stone was going to be at the table today, and Caelan was too lazy to specifically cook for a dragon...

Do you know how much it can eat in one meal?

Eighty catties!

That one mu of potatoes, once grown, it alone could eat a third of it!

With that appetite, either it learns to cook for itself in the future, or it can only eat roasted meat, otherwise, it can just eat it raw.

Stone, eating cooked food for the first time, was ecstatic, gripping a rib in each front paw and gnawing, its tail even coiled around a beef leg with a golden-brown roasted skin. It naturally didn't know that Caelan didn't want to bother cooking for it anymore.

Fat Tiger and Fu had long since eaten their fill and were dozing, leaning against Stone's belly.

Caelan, meanwhile, separated a portion of the bonfire and set up another pot, stewing beef offal soup.

Stone smelled the aroma from the pot, and even though it hadn't finished what was in its paws, its head leaned over again.

“Go away! There's no share for you here!”

Caelan raised his hand and pressed down on Stone's mouth, trying to push it back, but his fifty-odd points of strength were no match for Stone. Stone hadn't even exerted force, and he himself fell backward, head over heels.

Immediately afterward, he sprang up with a carp-like flip.

“Alright, today I must show you who's the boss!”

“Awooo!”

Stone happily lifted a leg, kicking the groggy Fat Tiger and Fu flying.

Tina sat nearby, eating with much more elegance, cutting off small pieces with a knife, chewing slowly, not competing or rushing.

Watching Caelan flip onto Stone's back, ready to wrestle with it, Tina felt an indescribable emotion in her heart.

Just a short while ago, she had been hunted by the country she pledged allegiance to, pursued by her revered teacher, and betrayed by her trusted subordinates... At this very moment, she was sitting here as if time stood still.

It felt like a dream.

She suddenly began to fear what would happen if Caelan found out her identity—would he kick her out?